True Detective: The Pilot

I can't wait to find out what everyone else thinks of True Detective. That probably is not the best state of mind for a blogger to be in. I couldn't help but think of everyone else while I watched the Pilot of HBO's newest drama, True Detective. I loved it. But what about you? Maybe not the "You" who is reading this but the "You" out there in TV land. The TV viewer you. I just am not sure this show is for you. All I could think of was how this was certainly not Bones, not CSI and not a show that you could try to reach that new high level on Candy Crush. All that equals that I loved it. I only want to watch a show that I actually have to watch. If I can watch your show and beat my mother-in-law in Words With Friends than your show is not for me. I think True Detective is for me.
First of all, I have no idea what is going on. The show is told to us in two time lines. 1995, when a brutal "Millenniumistic" murder has taken place. And in 2012, when for some reason our "hero's" are being interviewed. We can tell right away that some serious stuff has gone down in the 17 years between these time lines. When the pilot is over you really have no more answers to the questions than you had after the first ten minutes. Again, that is exactly the kind of show I want to watch. A couple of years ago when I used to still try new network pilots, I got so disgusted with how writers were trying to tell us everything in the first 20 minutes. If I know everything that soon, why am I hanging around? This show rides that thin line of telling us just enough and telling us nothing at the same time.

It is hard to explain how Matthew McConaughey creates a character who seems to say almost nothing for the entire hour as well as have several great speeches. This pilot written by Nic Pizzolatto gives Matthew some speeches that will give closed minded audiences a run for their money and their remotes. (There I go again thinking about "You") His character believes that human consciousness was a tragic misstep of evolution. His speech is so convincing that I found myself believing this philosophy after only hearing it once in my life. Woody Harrelson completely disagrees and after hearing Matt's belief system, he installs a "no talking in the car" rule. This to me is a funny statement on how other detective shows have always used the car as the place that their characters do their character development. In the car is where most of the show takes place on network TV. Here they are saying, we are gonna put in a rule of no talking.

So what is holding me back? Mostly other shows. I have recently watched Broad Church and The Fall. What I have learned about this kind of show is that it really is the solving of the mystery that counts. Great pilot, great speeches, great set up. Does it have a great finish? That will be the True Detective test.